rockies won the afternoon game today at coors field, ryan zimmermann, two homers in the series, adam dunn, upper deck today. the home run streak alive and well at 11 games. one game in the score book already today. maybe the nats get some help from their fans here in colorado. welcome to coors field, night cap of the nats and rockies split double header. it was a close one for a while today.

between livan and ubaldo. bob carpenter, rob dibble. the nats generated some offense against one of the best pitchers in baseball today. >> yeah, and even got the first home run hit off of him this season. but ubaldo jimenez has been fantastic all season long. our guy, his two losses have come at his hand. one in d. c. and one here. but livan had great stuff all day. jimenez was just better again. then dunn hit the home run, but other than, that it was the three singular home runs were the difference off livan hernandez today until the 8th inning. a very well pitched game and a very fast paced game and basically the home run ball that came through for everybody. >> bob: jason giambi, miguel olivo solos. dunn, that one up in the upper deck and a decisive hit by ian stewart and then brian bruney

came in the 8th inning and the rockies got three runs off of him. but the nats keep the home run streak alive. jason giambi hits one, olivo hits one and so the nats drop dame one. ryan zimmermann broke four bats in the game and keeps driving in runs. he's really handled colorado pitching well. >> rob: he's been fantastic and like you said, he broke a bunch of bats to get three hits today. he got through jimenez for three hits. this is against colorado back in d. c. in the earlier season. then he comes up here to colorado, has a couple of home runs and just crushes a lot in the first game. three hits today, bob, even adam dunn, that upper deck shot broke his bat on that home run. as i went into the clubhouse after the game and talked to mike wallace. but ryan zimmermann, 3-4 today and then you see the 16 games at coors field he hits -- he

loves hitting at mile high stadium. >> bob: ryan zimmermann in the series, 6-9, two home runs and 7 rbis. the weather is not even warm yet. >> rob: and the ball really hasn't been carrying until today. it was rainy and cold the night he hit it. the ball shouldn't have gone out. but he got him out of here. i look for maybe a different score in the second bill with atilano and hammel against each other. >> bob: four starts for jason hammel and hasn't won a ball game. with a 9 e.r.a., he might be pitching for his job tonight.

>> bob: cool early evening in denver. been a pretty nice day. there still a threat of rain in the area, but tonight the wind is blowing out toward the mountains here at coors field in beautiful denver, colorado. luis atilano goes out for his fifth major league start and taking on the rockies for the first time. game notes. six games so far. each team won three and they're both playing great defense. as i mentioned earlier, 11 straight games with a home run for the nats. longest active streak in the big leagues and luis atilano has led the nats to three wins in his four starts. he has nothing but wins on his decisions and rob, he didn't pitch beyond five and a third on monday night, but he got some big outs in a battle at new york. >> rob: yeah, some great outs, only walked a couple of guys, no runs, no home runs again given up. 102 pitches, 59 were strikes. that's what he does.

he ba -- battles, he's a pitcher and today, he takes the 3-0 record against a guy pitching for his big league life right now. >> bob: jeff francis comes back for the rockies tomorrow. if the game is close late. the nats have a mad capper as rob calls matt capps. hopefully that changes in the night cap tonight and we'll see him. [ female announcer ] welcome to busch gardens williamsburg,

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>> bob: washington nationals are seventh in the national league in battle average. ninth in runs, up to number six in home runs, they generated some offense today against ubaldo jimenez. adam dunn became the 29th guy to hit a upper deck home run down the right field line in this ballpark. larry walker, the first to do it. way back in '995 but dunn went deep today. wil nieves is in there with cristian guzman. jason hammel, 17-25 career. 1-0 in three starts against washington with a 3.66 e.r.a.. he hasn't been healthy in a while. >> rob: no, he's not and you see the statistics, had a bad groin. a little bit of rust, hasn't pitched in a while. bad groin, he better have a sense of urgency. jeff francis coming off the d.

l. tomorrow. nobody on base. he pitches under .300. runners scoring position, .500 and two outs runners in scoring position, .429 batting average against hammel. >> bob: nyjer morgan will step in. he started the game with a bouncing base hit and hit a run last game. seth smith, carlos gonzalez around the outfield. tulowitzki and barmes great up the middle. ian stewart, todd helton. paul philips. 8:10 eastern time underway. with a strike to niger, 4-8 with an rbi and a walk in the series. had a couple of hits around a walk today. but he was caught stealing again. and is now only 8-16 this year.

2-1. nyjer morgan hitting .274 with on base percentage of .355. here's our game time weather from trayne. partly cloudy skies, weather to the west of us. 59 degrees here at first pitch. visit traynesearch.com to locate a dealer near you. it's hard to stop a train. crazy weather all week here. the rockies had never had three games rained out in one week until this week. the 14 year veteran behind the plate. gary seder strom.

umpires when you work the plate now for a double header, you get other game off. morgan is jammed. that's trouble for the rockies if it's fair and it's just fouled down the left field line. >> rob: the thing with hammel's, over his career bob, he's given up way more hits than innings pitched. he's a hard throwing guy, but his offspeed stuff isn't going to put you away. he's got the 2-1 strikeout to walk ratio. that's what you worry about. why isn't he getting more guys out with the strikeouts? >> bob: phillies won their game today. 10-6 at milwaukee. the second place nats are two and a half behind philly. 2-2 pitch. he left it i don't know what nyjer morgan was looking for on the 2-2. fastball tailing to the outside corner. >> rob: ups score here on the pitch track. 94 right on the black. good pitch. and that will get you out.

as i said, 286 strikeouts and 402 -- now 403 innings pitched. or two-thirds, you add up the one more out. but 146 walks, bob, so 475 hits. >> bob: here's willie harris who had a rough afternoon. he went 0-4 hitting fifth. had a ball get by him that we think he lost in the shirts and the lights. not sure and then had another base hit fall in front of him when he was playing a left- handed batter deep. willie is batting second tonight. hitting a buck 69. 3-0. >> rob: well, and i think jim riggleman wanted to give josh willingham the entire day off. two games, you know we got the day off yesterday. be nice to get him a couple of back-to-back days off and the bats for willie harris. not playing but twice a week,

difficult for willie harris to get back on track. >> bob: tomorrow, the nats face a lefty. 3-1 to harris with zimmerman on- deck here. josh watching. >> rob: both hard throwing righties, jimenez and hammel. give josh the day off. a lot of guys joked after the game and they were saying he was jamming the heck out of it with 99-mile an hour fastballs, especially the right-handed guys in the lineup. he broke zimmerman's bat three times. >> bob: well, ryan had two hits on broken bats. he broke a bat on a foul ball and then we think he broke another later in the game when he made an out. on a ground ball to second.

3-2 to willie. >> rob: again? >> bob: pretty much the same pitch he threw to nyjer morgan. this one is skyed out to left center. seth smith, two outs. phillies win their 22ness game of -- 22nd game of the year today to tie san diego. the marlins and mets who have lost three in a row at .500 and atlanta at one game under. by far, the most balanced division in baseball. what does ryan zimmerman have in store for us now? he's broken into the top six in the league in batting average now. at .337. his on base percentage has climbed up to .389. having a fantastic series. six hits, two homers, seven rbis.

if you keep the ball way from him -- away if him, you better keep it down. adam dunn, left handers know this and so do right-handers. there's a jet stream in right center. if you hit the ball well, it will go right out of here. little low and away. 2-1. pirates beat the cubs again today and the giants -- in their afternoon game. tim lincecum beating roy oswalt 2-1 in san francisco. zimmerman got jammed on that one. a one, two, three top of the 1st for jason hammel and now luis atilano goes to work. [ male announcer ] let's take the garden into our own hands.

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pancakes layered the value with cheesecake and toppings. ihop. come hungry. leave happy. buy a $25 gift card and get $5 off a future visit. >> bob: rockies are fifth in the league in hitting, fifth in runs and not the power club they used to be. 10th in homers, but they have good sticks, brad hawpe, an outstanding day today. a couple of doubles, a walk, a run scored. in fact, it looks like they might have changed the ball he hit at willie harris from an error to a hit and here's luis atilano who has faced the

dodgers, the cubs, the braves, the mets and now the rockies. carlos gonzalez leads off for the rocks. 2-9 with an rbi in the series. checks in as the ninth leading hitter in the league at .323. high strike. count is even. >> rob: well, luis atilano has to keep the ball down in this ballpark. you hit it well anywhere, it can go out. supposed to be a ground ball pitcher. given up more fly ball outs than ground ball outs this year. four starts in the big league level. >> bob: offspeed.

right field, for roger bernadina. >> rob: got a report, no free lunch. way too many walks. 12 walks in 23 innings pitched so far for atilano. that's not good if you're a ground ball guy. keep the ball down low. that ball that was hit right there, if it's hit better, it's a home run. but i love the attitude. he's aggressive and attacks the strike zone and it's getting the guys out on the ground ball out instead of letting them hilt the offspeed change-ups. >> bob: you are uneasy looking at the numbers. >> rob: we've seen him at times go away from that and go with the offspeed pitch. >> bob: he has lived a charmed life. facing seth smith here. 11 strikeouts, 12 walks and now 23 innings. >> rob: don't go away from your screen. that's a good one.

>> bob: didn't get the call, 2- 1. nats road record despite the loss today, 9-8. 5-4 against the west. rockies have 9-8 against the east. we've seen a lot of our divisions so far. and it goes to 3-1. >> rob: and it's a shame. livan, two losses this year, both guys to a guy that's 7-1 with a guy with an under 1 earned run average. he could have drawn up a different pitcher one of these times, but with his luck, he keeps drawing jimenez. >> bob: it was the best e.r.a. matchup since cliff lee faced volquez two years ago in terms of the starting e.r.a.s of both pitchers. livan and jimenez, both number one. a one out walk with brad hawpe coming up. nationals just like today with harris, morgan and bernadina in

the outfield. desmond and guzman fortnight cap and -- for the nightcap. pudge rodriguez got the start in the noon game local time today. here's brad hawpe. >> rob: , well, there's another walk like we talked about bob. especially with all the hammers in the middle of the lineup, you don't want to start putting disturbs on the pond. -- ducks on the pond. >> bob: et better e.r.a.s than bob gibson and don drysdale getting together in 1978. pretty amazing the numbers those guys brought into that game today. >> rob: bob, we have a situation. dunn is having trouble seeing looking into the diamond towards the pitcher's mound. >> bob: that's a problem here, for games rob that start at that time. the sun is coming in right from the left field corner into the first baseman's eyes. >> rob: you've got shade with zimmerman, sun where the

pitcher is and then shade back to sun where dunn, who's 6'6," standing above that little shadow. looking that right in the face. so he's having trouble just seeing the pitcher, much less hopefully he didn't throw over too much. >> bob: 0-2. out of play. why is this stadium like this? it's because the rockies wanted their fans sitting up in the upper deck in right field to be able to see the mountains. this ballpark should be turned about 30 or 40 degrees to the right so that the sun would come in from behind home plate. but they wanted that view of mountains and obviously that's where the sunsets here. and going back to '95, todd helton, andres galarraga. a lot of guys, not to mention the visiting first baseman, have had a lot of problems with that.

from home plate to center field, is almost directly south to north. that's why the sun comes right in from the left field corner. that's not the way diamonds are usually laid out. >> rob: you can't build stadiums just for the sight line for your viewers. for your fans. >> bob: well, they did. seth smith took a look and goes to third on a little base hit by brad hawpe and with tulowitzki coming up. the rockies have runners at the corners. >> rob: those were all 0-2 pitches and finally, another bad pitch here. jams him but the ball falls in there for a hit and so now you've got trouble first and third with your power guy tulowitzki. only one home run, but about 15 rbis. >> bob: and the first base runners have problems. >> rob: well, and he does in right field too.

probably saying man, should have seen this in the first half of the 1st inning. i couldn't see anything. >> bob: i wouldn't want to be a runner at that time of the day. you might get picked off and never see it. here's tulowitzki. only a couple of hits in the series. but an rbi. and now a double play ball. guzman, a bad toss to desmond who saves the 4-6-3. that was a risky backhand toss by guzman and the rookie ian desmond saves it with a wonderful pivot.

>> bob: another example of how athletic and strong young shortstop ian desmond is. first of all, the pitch, rob, that got the ground ball. >> rob: great sinker, first of all, tulowitzki looking to put it out there. not a good backhand pass, laid his shortstop out there to dry and you don't want to hang the shortstop out there like that. either throw overhand or a really strong underhand speed to the shortstop because you have to have something better than that on the ball. >> bob: rob made a good point during the break. that's a pass you make when you're maybe 10 or 15 feet from the shortstop, not 30 feet away. but nats survived and here's adam dunn. a slide by helton and the pitch recovering four in a row for jason hammel to start the game.

todd helton's been battling the flu. jason giambi replaced him in the first game today and hit a home run. >> rob: he's battling the flu, but still an amazing glove man. although giambi played some great first base today in the first game. made some plays that he probably wouldn't normal have to be called upon to make. in todd helton's absence, giambi had a heck of a game off livan. >> bob: cristian guzman's bat has really come alive now in the last week. 12-24 over an eight game hitting streak. got his batting average back over .300 to .315. hitting .250 from the left side overall. knocked on the balls like that. in the air to center, but look at it go. that's that wind i talked about earlier. it's flowing out tonight. and carlos gonzalez had to go

get that pitch. two outs in the 2nd. all things the number 2. extra base hits, doubles or more in consecutive games, the nationals 64 in a row. that's interesting. a double. in your second room of flooring free at 877-241-luna. >> rob: look at the guy in his box, what's his number? number 2. >> bob: 2. rob, this is game two of the double header. >> rob: bob, there's two outs in the inning. >> bob: double header means you're playing two. how about a double? not on that pitch. >> rob: bernadina hit two home runs against smith. like to see him hit one right here. >> bob: straight change, 85 and roger was way out ahead.

bernadina, two walks in the series but he has three hits also and he's 3-5. desmond waiting. and a chopper up the middle. >> rob: you're not going to get that. beautiful thing. that a way, roger, nice turn. >> bob: i made a funny joke up here at least in my opinion. about two years ago when i said ground balls carry well here. the whole surface, rob, just seems to be faster than any other surface in major league baseball and ground balls scoot through here. >> rob: look at the great turn. he was thinking about possibly challenging gonzalez. sometimes you learn the outfielders you play against and they may lob the ball back into outfield. occasionally, the guy lobs it back, you can take an extra base. >> bob: and they play so deep here. here's desmond, 2-6 with a couple of rbis. >> rob: wouldn't you play deep? that ball by guzman almost went out of here. >> bob: well tonight the wind is really blowing out.

>> rob: deep, way back out in the outfield. >> bob: out beyond that red sign in left center. it's about 415. that little corner of the wall out there. he's had some of the deepest gaps in major league baseball. >> rob: here's a state farm cap. >> bob: 415 straight away and right there. bernadina, thrown out earlier today by miguel olivo, not playing this game fortunately. olivo continues to throw out every national in sight. tonight, catching is 33-year- old journeyman paul phillips.

desmond breaks his bat. the nats get a hit and leave a runner. no score. [ laughs ] [ male announcer ] achievement has its own patch of grass. ♪ achievement unleashes hidden potential. ♪ all right!

achievement looks forward to dinner at home. achievement enjoys newfound freedom. i love you. [ male announcer ] mortgages, home equity loans, and lines of credit from pnc. helping achievers borrow with an eye towards the future. pnc. for the achiever in us all. so craveable? it's all in the pepperation. we hand-batter each piece of all-white-meat chicken, cooked to perfection, and toss them in our signature honey-chipotle sauce, making them crispy pieces of heaven on earth. try them today at chili's. >> bob: no score, bottom of the 2nd, todd helton coming up. here's debbi taylor with the sideline report. visit the website, the association for it pros. >> luis atilano has done a nice job filling in and jim riggleman likes the composure he shows out this on the mound. >> it's not an easy thing to

get your first time in the big leagues and he did that. he got over that hurdle. now he's trying to pitch and pitch well and he's done it every time out. >> luis has allowed two runs or less in two of his four starts. bob? >> bob: well, nothing but ws so far. have to give him credit for that. he has pitched long enough in his starts to stick around. todd helton, 1-2 with two walks in the series. all that came on thursday night. today helton, hitting -- todd helton, hitting .257. 325 career home runs and he's always worn out washington and montreal pitching. it carries to nyjer morgan. >> rob: right you are on that one bob. he was trying to swing easy and get a base hit and he hit a line shot at the speedster

nyjer morgan out there. >> bob: nats will be home on wednesday. come on out on thursday. it will be military appreciation night. nats and nets 7:05. get your tickets at nationals.com. next up will be ian stewart. who's had a good series. 4-8. three rbis and his batting average is over .300. >> rob: we need to get luis atilano lower on the pitch counts. you have to start getting into the 6th and 8th inning and livan has pretty much been his mentor. but livan has to pitch away from contact. luis can pitch to contact, get ground balls and be more

economical. say five, seven pitch innings. >> bob: his first two, dodgers at cubs. six innings each, 93 and 91. it's just not a formula to stick around for longer than six innings and steve mccaddy wants his guys going longer. jammed in, easy fly ball. nyjer morgan. two outs. now, this is why he's been able to win. with the bases ohm city, he'll give up base runners. but he has ha knack of a young pitcher of gearing it up with runners on bias. base. >> rob: five times he's had the bases loaded and gotten out of that. you don't want to keep challenging fate right there by loading the bases. >> bob: that does not include the first and third situation

one inning ago when he got the tulowitzki double play ball. >> rob: we like him a lot. i think he has better stuff than he thinks and he can be more aggressive. look at that. >> bob: a one, two three 2nd for luis atilano. he'll bat after davis and before morgan. you can trace our journeys in the lines on our faces, the curls of our smiles, and the joy in our eyes. and during those journeys, throughout our service and around the world, as we buy cars, finance homes d live our lives, navy federal is there. for over 75 years, they've been there.

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>> bob: coors field, lot of things for the folks to do here. one of the really nice ballparks open in 1995. but they still haven't put a screen up there in the left field corner to save todd helton and the other first basemen of the world. >> rob: and barmes and hawpe and they got some bad glare right now. right in their eyes. >> bob: here's wil nieves. nats number eight hitter. fastball in there from hammel. wil hitting .209. his 11th start of the year and of the previous 10, with a squinting helton looking in, the nats have won seven. little tapper, 0-2.

well, wil deserves a nice night like this on which to play baseball after all the work he did in new york in the constant rain and cold the other night. >> rob: 7-3 when he starts. when you give the future hall of famer a night off, you're very productive. that means he's working his butt off behind the dish, but he already knew that about wil. >> bob: breaking ball hit to the right side for a charging clint barmes. that guy played some second base this afternoon. he took a run or two away from in nats. >> rob: he made a play on the tulowitzki side of shortstop, second base. he was 10 to 15 feet running towards tulowitzki as they were playing a shift and threw the guy out at first. >> bob: speedy harris. >> rob: ridiculous.

>> bob: luis atilano as a hitter, 1-8 in the major leagues. >> rob: i mean, their defense is just very tough and when they have texter fowler out there instead of smith in left and you put fowler in center? your right fielder has got one of the best arms in the big legals. and olivo behind the plate. >> bob: last year, the rockies fell to number five in defense. brad hawpe, a great arm in right field. but the previous two years, they were number one under clint hurdle before jim tracy became the skipper here. they're used to being is topnotch national defensive club. and in '07 when they had the miracle september, went 20-8 and won 14 of the last 15. >> rob: 69 errors. in 162 games. they set a record.

and you need some people that can run that outfield too. that veriest on our side has been -- tavares for us. >> bob: atilano to barmes. and two outs here in the 3rd. armed forces day celebrated every year on the third sat in may. created in 1949 to honor americaning serving in the five military branches. army, navy, marines, air force and coast guard. we'd like to thank all past and current members of the united states armed forces for their work and dedication in protecting our country. >> rob: here, here. >> bob: we salute you. two outs, bases empty. nyjer morgan called out on the 2-2 fastball first time.

>> rob: even jimenez, so dominant, he was worried about nyger on base. that's why he's important. you need to get him on base as much as you can. >> bob: only 17 runs in the nationals first 36 games. that's fewer than a run every two games and rob, the nats need him to be scoring an average of three runs every five games or so. if you play 62 games, he needs to score 100 runs. >> rob: i'd like him to score 120 runs and score almost every game at least once. but you know, especially against a guy like olivo, shut down the base stealing game. because a base hit by adam kennedy in the first game and he's on third every time. sometimes running first to third like the angels preach is more important than trying to steal second base. we need runs. a couple of more runs in the

first game and we win that game. >> bob: nasty breaking ball, but it gets away. morgan gets the start and he will be out. took paul phillips a while to find out. he has fanned twice and on a good play by the catcher, this top of the 3rd is over. [ music throughout ] [ male announcer ] achievement: starts small...

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>> bob: you want to play first base at coors field? good luck. hey, at least the sun is out. that's a welcome change around here. bottom of the 3rd, paul phillips, jason hammel and then carlos gonzalez for the rockies. against luis atilano. a walk, a hit given up so far and a big double play ball to end the 1st. and he faces the catcher paul phillips. 2-9 in three games with an rbi. paul phillips was drafted in the ninth round 12 years ago by the kansas city royals. he's played more than 2500 games in the minor leagues. pardon me, 2500 at-bats in 700 games.

guys like rob dibble, the next major leaguers would call cups of coffee with kansas city, the white sox and now last year and this year with the rockies. their other catcher, chris iannetta, who's been outstanding defensively for the last couple of years, just hasn't hit at all this year. >> rob: right. >> bob: and they sent him down. hitting .133. >> rob: that's a player every day. get five at-bats a day down there and in a week or a couple of months, call him back up here. he can't hit .100. >> bob: popped out of play. >> rob: you have to challenge the guy with you're atilano with the -- if you're atilano with the pitcher on-deck. i call these guys survivors, you know, been around a long time. loves the game. but he has survived for more than a decade. minors and majors. so -- >> bob: got to love the game. 3-2. >> rob: absolutely.

>> bob: and a guy with nine at- bats at the big league level this year in front of the pitcher gets a walk by luis atilano. scott olsen and jeff francis, battle of lefties here tomorrow. 3:00 eastern, on st. louis for two. before the nats come home for a short two game series against the mets and don't forget interleague baseball is upon us. next friday night, when the orioles come in. >> rob: well, the dangerous little dance for atilano. his second walk and only eight guys in the battle order he's gone through. >> bob: you wonder how anybody can be hitting .375 against him with the bases empty plus the walks when he has the stuff he has? hammel, 1-5 with a sacrifice this year. deadening of the ball.

1-4 on the sacrifice. >> rob: nice job right here by hammel. see him way up on the bat. he does it perfectly like bob said. big, big tall guy, you see him get down there with the knees and let the bat do the talking. don't try to get to the ball with your arms and then slice at the ball with the bat. you let the bat get down there level, bends thrown if you have to and go get it >> bob: phillips at second, gonzalez now, two shots to give the rocky it is lead. >> rob: you're playing with fire anyway. you might pop the ball up. you want the bat to be level to the ball. this kid made a couple of fabulous plays in center field in the first game. willie harris hit a ball -- should have been over hid for a double, maybe a triple and he

played the shallow center field and so fast and went back and made the play. that hurt about mid-way through game one. >> bob: similar pitch and result. no balls, two strikes quickly. >> rob: see right here, you're way ahead. and you know, even if you don't think you have a good four seam fastball, go to the four seam where there's not as much movement and throw this thing right at colorado rocky name. right underneath his arms. see if he'll chase it. players throwing change-ups. >> bob: nowhere near the middle of the plate. and atilano stumbling off the back of the mound.

>> rob: yeah. remember the many conversations we've had, bob, too about if i can't hit and i'm not going to swing at it. if you have a good change-up or decent change-up or a breaking ball, gonzalez probably won't even offer at it if it's low. but if you challenge a fastball up high. they can't lay off that. they want to hit that pitch. good sinker away. still too good though on an 0-2 pitch. >> bob: next up is seth smith. rockies batting bottom of the 3rd of a scoreless game. after colorado won it 6-2 this afternoon. tied this series at one apiece. paul phillips has walked and been sacrificed to second. got that ball in on his hands and it's just there. i guess it's going to stay

fair. right around the pole on an 0-2 pitch. the worst thing in baseball for a pitcher, a walk and a homer. [ cheering and applause ] >> rob: well, you went away and then you tried to throw a breaking ball down and in and to a lefty, that's the worst spot. but 0-2 when you should be throwing something to change the eye level. that's a young mistake, but still, wil nieves should know better. lot of our young guys continue when they're ahead in the count to go to the breaking ball. something low. most guys won't even go after it and chase that pitch. it's a waste.

one thing i love about tyler clippard is that high fastball. i mean, it just looks so appetizing to a major league hitter, they won't lay off. they'll swing at it. that pitch is way too fast. there's the clipper out there. >> bob: a fastball the smith. walked his first time. atilano, given up his second career homer. but now he's struck out 11 and walked 14 batters in 24 innings. and he just gave up another home run. not a whole lot of sink to his stuff tonight. >> rob: well, first of all, this is the worst ballpark in the world to try and throw

breaking balls. most guys will tell you it takes so much away from your breaking ball, it's hard to grip it. whatever. but if you hang it. the guy is going to tap it and it jumps out of her. his strength is his sinker and he's not throwing his sinker enough for it to be a sink. he has to pitch to contact and get ground balls, and yet i already told you coming in he had more fly ball outs in four starts than ground ball outs. >> bob: and rob, if you pitch inside to a left-handed battener this ballpark. -- batter in this ballpark, it better be up and in to move him off the plate. if you throw anything for strikes to lefties in this park, it's got to be away. >> rob: well, you've got to know here if you don't have a very good breaking ball and i'm talking about a livan hernandez or jimenez breaking ball, you shouldn't be fiddling with too many of them.

>> bob: here's brad hawpe. look out for him. >> rob: now they're standing up there and they're comfortable. they love hitting in the ballpark. for many in years, it's been their advantage to play here. you're a contact guy. you're not a strikeout guy. i don't understand why with two strikes, you're not trying to jam the guy and make him hit a weak ground ball to second and/or get beat to left field. >> bob: yeah, where it's a single or double. that walk to the number eight hitter who has two hits this year at the big league level really hurt to start the inning. and the other thing you do is you give the pitcher a chance make a productive out. >> rob: overthinking it, once again. you're trying to be a four pitch pitcher and your best

pitch, you're throwing the fewest. i don't understand the mentality. but as you said, he was living large the first four starts and now he's starting to pay for it. but his change-up and his breaking ball is way down there on his list of best pitches. >> bob: turned one over on him. down and away. for a strikeout. second out of the inning brings up tulowitzki. >> rob: well, he was even 2-2, ups store here on the pitch track and he throws a great circle change. up to 48 pitches now. 31 for strikes. not a bad ratio. but we're not even through the 3rd inningyet.

next pitch will be 50. and greg maddux was the master of the sinker because when you're a righty, he would start it out way outside and bring it back over the plate. and i see a lot more guys doing it now because he showed that you can manipulate a sinker to do anything you want it to do. >> bob: a breaking ball out to desmond. he had tulowitzki reaching. the walks set the stage for a bad inning. gonzalez and smith go deep, 3-0 rockies.

>> bob: atilano hit hard in the 3rd, 3-0 rockies. we invite you to become a founding member of the citizen of nats town fan clubment members receive a ballpark tour ticket. team discounts and special ticket offers and game day audio and more. natstown.com, sign up. >> rob: all right, time to start scoring some runs. >> bob: willie harris flied to left, gets it low and away. >> rob: make this guy work. he's not jimenez.